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Daily News
By Gail Helmer

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Friday October 19, 2001

PC News
Silent Hunter II Goes Gold
Ubi Soft Entertainment and SSI today announced that Silent Hunter II has reached gold master status. Silent Hunter II will begin shipping to retail stores the first week of November. The companion title Destroyer Command is expected to reach store shelves by Christmas.

Hotas Cougar Delayed
We received some news that the Hotas Cougar release date has been delayed until January 2002. No word on what caused the delay, but we will keep you posted.

Rogue Spear: Black Thorn Demo
Ubi Soft has told us that a Rogue Spear: Black Thorn demo will be available Friday, October 19. Rogue Spear: Black Thorn is the latest add-on and will be in stores on November 1st 2001. Black Thorn Website

WW2OL Patch Update
A small bugfix patch, v1.3.1, has been released to address problems players were experiencing with v1.3.0 released earlier this week. Click here for further details

Comanche 4 Demo Pulled
Novalogic has announced that the Comanche 4 demo, released yesterday, has been temporarily taken down due to minor technical issues. We will let you know when the new demo becomes available.

Operation Flashpoint Grenade Launcher
Yesterday Bohemia Interactive released the new Grenade Launchers add-on for Operation Flashpoint.


Military News
Predator Goes on the Offensive
The Aero-News Network is reporting that the unmanned aerial vehicle RQ-1 Predator is taking the offensive. After three have been lost in the past three months sending photos of Iraq and now of Afghanistan, the Predator is bulking up. In an unannounced move by the United States Air Force, the Predator will be carrying Hellfire Missiles. The hope is that they don't arrive too late -- after all the good targets are already destroyed! [More...]



Navy Divers Recover Body from Ehime Maru Wreck
Navy divers, while probing the interior and exterior of the sunken Japanese motor vessel "Ehime Maru" Oct. 17, found and recovered a body from the boat during salvage operations at the shallow-water recovery site one mile south of Honolulu International Airport's Reef Runway in Hawaii. The Navy continues to search for more victims of the sunken vessel.

Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, began exploring the vessel after the Navy successfully lifted the vessel from 1,800 feet of water Oct. 15, and set it down in 115 feet of water at the designated shallow-water recovery site. They surveyed the vessel to ensure that it was stable and also identified any potential hazards that may hamper the recovery effort.



Ehime Maru, with 35 crewmembers and passengers, was on a fishing and research mission Feb. 9, when it collided with USS Greeneville (SSN 772) about nine miles south of the Diamond Head Crater off Honolulu.

The submarine rapidly surfaced and collided with Ehime Maru's stern while practicing an "emergency ballast tank blow," a procedure used to bring subs to the surface in the event of an emergency, although Greeneville was training at the time of the accident. The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine was on a one-day cruise and was due back at Pearl Harbor that afternoon.

A Navy court of inquiry found the submarine's commanding officer, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, guilty of dereliction of duty and negligence, forcing his retirement from the Navy.Strategy.(U.S. Navy Photo)

Navy Commissions Guided-Missile Destroyer Howard
The Department of the Navy will commission the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer Howard in a ceremony Saturday, Oct. 20, 2001, at 6 p.m. CDT at pier 27 in Galveston, Texas.

The ship is named in honor of Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Jimmie E. Howard (1929-1993), recipient of the Medal of Honor for his leadership of a platoon against repeated attacks by a battalion-sized Viet Cong force. After receiving severe wounds from an enemy grenade, he distributed ammunition to his men and directed air strikes on the enemy. By dawn, his beleaguered platoon still held their position. Howard also received the Silver Star Medal for service in Korea. A previous Howard (1920-1945), named for Charles W. Howard, a U.S. Navy hero from the Civil War, earned six battle stars in World War II.



Howard is the 33rd of 58 Arleigh Burke class destroyers currently authorized by Congress. These highly capable multi-mission ships can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support of the National Military

The mission of Howard is to conduct sustained combat operations at sea. The ship is capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles simultaneously. It is equipped with the AN/SPY-1D phased array radar, the most powerful air search radar in Navy's inventory. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

Navy Cmdr. Joseph F. Nolan, a native of Massapequa Park, N.Y., is the commanding officer of Howard. With a crew of 340 officers, chiefs and enlisted personnel, Howard will be homeported in San Diego, Calif., as a member of the U.S. Third Fleet. The ship, built by Bath Iron Works, is 509.5 feet in length, and has a waterline beam of 59 feet. Four gas-turbine engines power the 9,238 ton ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Air Strikes Effective Against Terrorist Targets
U.S. and allied air strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan are having continued effect on terrorists, said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

"We continue to make progress in striking al Qaeda and Taliban targets across Afghanistan in the north and in the south, and in creating conditions that we believe will be necessary for sustained anti-terror operations in the country," Rumsfeld told Pentagon reporters today.

Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accompanied Rumsfeld at the press briefing. He echoed the defense secretary's impression, noting that the bombing missions are "destroying or degrading the Taliban infrastructure."

The chairman said U.S. forces hit more than a dozen target areas that included terrorist camps and forces; Taliban military facilities, including missile, vehicle and armor maintenance and storage sites; airfields; troop deployment and garrison areas; and command and control facilities.

"We used tactical aircraft, primarily carrier based, although we did use a small number of F-15Es that operated from facilities in the region. And we employed a few long- range bombers," Myers said, adding that AC-130 gunships were used again. Aircraft from the USS Theodore Roosevelt also participated in yesterday's strikes, he noted.

Myers noted that humanitarian relief efforts also continue. U.S. fliers flew four more C-17 humanitarian airdrop missions yesterday, delivering about 53,000 ration packs. This makes a total of more than 450,000 delivered.

Leaflets exhorting people to abandon or to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda forces were dropped at two separate locations in northeastern Afghanistan, he noted.

Three video clips shown at the briefing showed the destruction of a Taliban headquarters and training complex near Kabul; an armored vehicle in the open and training barracks in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan; and a Taliban security post in the south, including a dug-in tan.

Myers called the war against terrorism the U.S. military's "most important tasking" since World War II.

"What's at stake here is no less than our freedom to exist as an American people. So there's no option but success. We owe it to our families, and to the families of peace-loving nations to prevail in this fight," he emphasized.

Myers asked troops, DoD civilians and allies to stay ready and focused.

"Our victory will be the nation's victory. In a sense, it will be the world's victory, or for sure, those who love freedom."

Following the press conference, Rumsfeld, a former ambassador to NATO, and Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino met reporters at the Pentagon's River Entrance. The secretary thanked Martino for Italy's assistance in the fight against global terrorism.

Global terrorism "is a common enemy and threat against our countries," Martino said. He pledged Italy's "total support." He also noted that Italian military pilots and technicians are likely among the crews of NATO Airborne Warning and Control System planes currently patrolling the U.S. East Coast.


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